Pain sliced through her as she pried her eyes open, blinking blurrily. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was-

Lucy snapped upwards with a cry, cradling her head in her hands, already beginning to hyperventilate. Her breath came in short quick gasps as she shook, her entire body shaking the bed she found herself in. Tears sprung to her eyes and then began to fall as she stumbled out of the bed, her weak legs unable to support her, and she crashed to the ground with a loud sound. There was a tug in her arm as something was pulled out of her flesh, left hanging in the air. She cried out in pain and terror, instinctively curling up into fetal position, covering her head as she sobbed into her knees.

Suddenly, there were gentle hands landing on her arms, a voice murmuring gently to her before hissing in shock and surprise when she screamed and lashed out, trying to yank away. She thrashed, trying to free herself from their grasp, quivering as the memories of talons raking through her flesh filled her.

"Lucy!" someone shouted in her ear, and the celestial mage wailed in response, cowering and covering her face with her arms. "Lucy, listen to me, you're-"

A door slammed open. "What's going on?! Did she - oh, my god! She's awake!"

"Get the Master, don't let anyone in here!"

"Right!"

The door slammed shut.

Lucy sobbed into her arms, shaking her head.

No. No. She couldn't do this! She couldn't watch all of her friends die again! This couldn't be happening!

"Lucy," Loke's voice soothed, his hands gently returning to her arms as he tried to pull her hands away from her face. He moved slowly with exaggerated movements, making sure she could see what he was doing. He was able to move her hands with ease, and Lucy stared miserably into his serious green eyes with a haunted gaze, tears falling rapidly from her eyes. His gaze softened alongside his voice. "Lucy" he murmured, touching her cheek. She flinched away. "Listen to me. You're alright. You're safe."

She shook her head, shoving at him as she tried to push away. "No," she breathed, her voice hoarse and barely audible. She swallowed thickly, her throat dry, and then she was coughing harshly, struggling to breathe through her panic.

The door flew open again, and Lucy forced herself not to look up, trembling as a familiar voice demanded, "Loke, what happened?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "One moment, it was like it has been for the last few months, the next I felt something shift. I stepped out and she was like this."

"Mira, I want you to get a hold of-"

"On it, Master." Mirajane paused, gazing worriedly at Lucy, then darted out of the room, long silver hair fluttering around her as she did so.

Lucy buried her face in her hands, trembling every now and then, cringing away from Loke's touch. "D-don't," she managed to choke out, her throat parched.

Makarov pressed his lips together in a hard line. "He won't be pleased that he wasn't here...I'll have Mira fetch Cana at least. She'll stay with her until they return. I'm assuming you'll be staying here until Porlyusica comes to check on her?"

"No" Loke murmured. "Whenever Cana comes, I'll check in with the rest of Lucy's Spirits...even Aquarius has been worried." He pulled his hands back, contemplating. "We really need to get her off the floor...how far away are they? Did they get very far?"

"A good day's travel," Makarov answered, shaking his head with a sigh. "Although I suppose it won't take that brat as long to get back here once Mira gets a hold of him...he's been worried sick, just like we all have. Loke, make sure she gets into bed. I'm going to send Jet to fetch Porlyusica." He smiled kindly at the shaky celestial mage, looking relieved, and then left the room.

"Come on, Lucy," Loke said gently, carefully gathering her off the floor and lifting her as she weighed nothing. Instinctively, her fists clenched in the fancy tie he wore, and she shook as she touched the silky material. Tears rose to her eyes again. She mumbled his name, and Loke smiled gently as he set her down in the bed. "Look at me," he ordered. Her eyes lifted hesitantly to his, and he locked his gaze firmly on hers. "You're safe."

"Maybe," she managed to mumble out, hesitant. She wanted to memorize Loke's face. She wanted to memorize all of the faces she knew without a doubt she'd be seeing before long. "But nobody else will be."

"No," Loke protested, "All of us, okay? I know what you went through wasn't fun, Lucy." He gently began to tuck the blankets that had covered her around her. "All of us, every single one of your Celestial Spirits saw what you were going through. It was just a dream, just like I told you. Just a nightmare."

Lucy buried her face in her hands, quivering. "Dreams come true," she rasped, "So nightmares can, too."

"That may be true," he admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently pushing some blonde hair from her face. He took in her haunted brown eyes with a gentle smile. "But Lucy...none of us are going anywhere. You're safe now. Those...what did you call them? Marked Ones?" She shuddered. "They don't exist, and even if they do, they wouldn't be able to land a single hand on any of us."

There was a knock on the door. "Loke? Lucy? May I come in?"

"Sure thing," Loke called, "I have to go back and tell the others anyways. Lucy," he added when Mira closed the door behind her, approaching carefully. "Remember. Everything's alright now, okay? I promise."

"Doesn't make it true," she whispered, voice raspy and hoarse from lack of use as he disappeared. She lowered her eyes to her lap, refusing to look up when Mira copied what Loke had done moments ago, taking his place on the edge of the bed.

Not to be discouraged, Mirajane smiled broadly at her. "Would you like something to eat, Lucy?" she asked, offering some food that she'd brought up with her. "I could get you some tea if you want."

"No, thanks," Lucy whispered in response, clenching her teeth at Mira's voice. She felt a flash of longing to hug the other woman but fought against it. For all she knew, Mira would disappear soon, never to be heard from again.

Mira tucked a lock of silver hair behind her ear, glancing at Lucy out of the corner of her eye. "The entire guild has been worried about you, you know...we don't know what happened, but we were. I'm glad you're awake now. You've been out for..." Mira counted on her fingers. "Three months, almost four now."

Lucy's dark gaze flicked up for a brief moment. "I was...unconscious?" she mumbled.

"Mhm," Mira answered, nodding her head. Her eyes gentled, and she opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Makarov came back inside, his mouth set in a firm line. "Master?"

"I want some food prepared immediately," he announced. "Lucy needs to eat, and whatever you think best for her to drink, Mira."

"Told you you needed to eat," Mirajane told Lucy playfully. She hesitated, then gently touched Lucy's arm. The blonde cringed away, her gaze downcast, and the barmaid sighed softly. "I'll do it...how soon will they get here? I think she really needs them, Master..."

"Natsu and Happy will arrive within the next few hours," Makarov answered. Lucy's head snapped up painfully at Natsu's name, and he gave a slight smirk before adding, "The others will be here by tomorrow. Now off with you! I need to speak with Lucy."

When Mira had left, Lucy pretended she didn't hear a single word Makarov said. Until she was absolutely certain that this wasn't another dream...she wasn't believing a single word anyone said or willingly touching anyone. Because if she did either of those things and it turned out to be a dream...she didn't think she could handle it.

Makarov tried to get her to respond, but she didn't, and in the end, he gave up when Mira returned with a plate of food and a steaming cup of tea. Lucy ignored both, instead curling up under the covers, closing her eyes. Almost immediately, her mind was filled with images of the Marked tearing through her friends as if they were nothing. She could remember watching Gajeel turning on them, killing Levy. She could remember the dark look in Juvia's eyes as she literally tore Happy apart...

A muffled sob escaped her, and Mira's gentle hand landed on her head, smoothing her matted blonde hair out of her face. Her dark blue eyes were full of concern for the young celestial mage, but she said nothing, setting the plate of food and cup of tea aside. "It's okay, Lucy," she tried to soothe, but the celestial mage was having nothing of it.

In the end, Loke showed back up on his own accord, Aries alongside him, though she looked exhausted from using her own abilities to show up. It was rare that she did so. When Mira looked questioningly at her, the Celestial Lion Spirit said simply, "She wanted to check on Lucy...she was one of the first ones Lucy lost in the nightmare."

Lucy ignored all of them, her head buried under the sheets, her face in her hands. She didn't want them in the room with her! Couldn't they see that? Her throat was too parched to even consider speaking, even if she had wanted to. She contemplated telling them to leave, but she doubted any of them would listen to her. Well, maybe Aries, but then she'd feel guilty.

Suddenly, the door opened and a sharp voice said irritably, "All of you. Out. I don't need anyone disrupting me while I'm working."

"Porlyusica," Mira murmured in relief as she stood, smiling broadly in greeting at the healer. Loke and Aries left in a small flash of light, and she hurried to wait outside the door. She'd be the first one when Porlyusica left, that was certain. For now, she'd wait.

Grumbling, Porlyusica ripped the blankets away from Lucy, who only blinked at the sudden brightness of light. "Up with you," she snapped, jerking Lucy into a sitting position, ignoring the way Lucy cringed away from her touch. "You're fine. Physically, at least, once you get some food into you." She poked sharply at Lucy's bony legs. "Not eating properly for three months...tch!" She poked and prodded, ripping Lucy's shirt up to peer at her back and gave a satisfied grunt. "Good. The mark's gone...maybe you aren't so pathetic after all. Beat the demon, did ya?"

Lucy slowly turned her dulled gaze on the healer. "...demon...?"

Porlyusica moved on to the basket she'd brought with her, shoving a leaf into the celestial mage's mouth. Lucy sputtered in surprise, spitting out the bitter leaf. "Yes. Demon. You were attacked by a demon that belongs to the leader of a dark magic cult. It used primitive magic to carve a spell into your back that put you in a nightmare. Had you have died in the nightmare, you would have died in reality...good to know that I won't have to come to a funeral. They're a waste of my time."

Lucy furrowed her brow, her mind drifting to the humanoid bug creature she'd seen twice before everything had gone to hell. That was a demon...?

Another leaf was shoved into her mouth and Porlyusica slapped a hand over her mouth, glaring at her irritably. "Eat it," she ordered. "Your body needs proper rest, especially after the damage you did by getting up so quickly after being unconscious for so long. Your mind, too. It hasn't properly seen sleep in a long time."

Lucy glared at her, chewing on the leaf, and making herself swallow. She shuddered at the bitterness.

Wiping her hands on rag after removing them from covering Lucy's mouth, Porlyusica muttered, "You need rest and some help regaining your muscle tone back, but other than that, you'll be fine physically. The mental damage is up to you and the rest of your bothersome guild to fix." Without another word, the healer gave her a final glare and left, shouting over her shoulder as she pushed past Makarov, who had joined Mira outside of the room, "Stop calling me for such pathetic reasons, Makarov!"

Lucy reached for the tea that Mira had left, hesitant to do so. She didn't want to taste the drink she hadn't had in so long, because it would only serve to try and convince her that everything was safe and fine when she didn't think or truly believe it was. But the bitterness of the leaf that had been practically shoved down her throat finally convinced the celestial mage to down it.

Makarov and Mirajane returned into the room, this time accompanied by a familiar brunette and her constant companion: a barrel of alcohol. Cana grinned broadly at the sight of Lucy awake, resting the weight of her barrel on her hip. "Hey, Lucy," she greeted, throwing herself down into a chair beside the blonde's bed. Lucy blinked, her brow slowly furrowing.

Makarov gave a bright smile, looking faintly amused. "Mira and I have work to do, so Cana's going to stay with you until Natsu gets back. Get some rest, my dear. You need it."

Again, she heard his name, and it had her heart skipping a beat. Natsu was coming? Unwilling but unable to help herself, hope spread throughout the celestial mage's mind, and it was that hope that lulled her into the safety of sleep as Cana droned on and on about who was darting who. When Cana stopped to breathe, her dark eyes landed on the sleeping Lucy, and a slight smile appeared on her face.

"It's good to have you back, Lucy," she murmured, reaching out to gently brush the hair out of her friend's sleeping face.

XxXx

When Lucy opened her eyes again, it was dark outside. There was a lot of noise coming from below, and she distantly realized that her nakama were making a heck of a lot of it. Far more than usual. Were they throwing a party? How long had it been since she'd seen any of them so happy?

Her eyes narrowed in thought against the darkness after she'd blurrily blinked her sleepiness away. She went to sit up, and then stopped in her tracks when she recognized a warm pressure on her hand. Her gaze drifted to figure out what was there, and her heart stopped for a brief moment as she recognized the large calloused fingers curled around her own.

He was asleep, sitting in the chair Cana had occupied. He was doubled over, his upper half resting on the bed, one arm pillowing his head. His face was facing her, and she frowned to herself at the exhaustion lining it. His pink hair was mussed, wild from rushing around, and he was snoring quietly in his sleep. Someone had draped a blanket over his shoulders, and Lucy was suspicious that he'd been with her for at least a little while. The scarf he adored so much was wrapped around his throat, and she found herself reaching out to brush her fingers against the scaly fabric. It was warm instead of cold, as she had grown used to it being over the week away from him. Tears began to gather in her eyes, and with shaking hands, the celestial mage reached out to gently brush her fingers over his cheek. Her hand trembled against his warm flesh, and the second she had skimmed her fingers across his cheek, his sharp onyx eyes sprang open. He blinked for a moment, and Lucy froze, a little surprised.

And then he was on his feet, a huge fanged spreading across his face, his eyes gleaming excitedly. "Lucy!" he cried. And then she was being crushed against him, pulled out of the bed as he laughed, his face pressed into her hair and his strong arms holding her up when her weak legs couldn't.

Unable to help herself, she threw her arms around his neck, sobbing hysterically. "Natsu," she breathed, closing her eyes happily at the warmth he provided. He was here, and he was alive.

Unless this was all a dream.

That thought brought her happiness to a screeching halt, and the young blonde ripped herself away. Natsu, startled, let her, and she was quickly stumbling back, her smile vanishing as she dropped her face into her hands. This couldn't be a dream...if this was a dream, she would die. She just knew it.

The smile vanished from his face. "...Luce?"

Lucy stumbled, nearly crashing into the ground, and his eyes flashed with concern as he caught her. But she only pulled away again, dropping onto the floor with a whispered, "Go away."

The look on the fire dragon slayer's face killed her inside. Hurt flashed across his expression. "But...why?" He dropped down to sit in front of her, craning his head in an awkward angle so that he could look into her grieved dark eyes. "Luce, what's wrong?"

"That nightmare was pretty bad." Loke's voice had his head snapping up. The Celestial Spirit had stepped out on his own accord - again - as if sensing her distress. "Natsu, she watched all of us die...and none of us can seem to convince her that she's awake." The last bit was said in Natsu's direction with a pointed look and a sharp tone, and he grimaced, realizing what Loke wanted.

Natsu rubbed the back of his head, messing his pink hair up further. "Lucy?" he said softly, trying to gain her attention. She ignored him, remaining as she was and he lost patience almost immediately. Ignoring Loke's irritated scowl, the dragon slayer reached over and grabbed her chin, using the other hand to snatch her hands away. Forcing her to look at him, he shoved his face near hers, searching her gaze. "Look at me, damn it!" When he was certain she was listening, the fire mage huffed, his grip gentling. "We're all okay, got it? What the hell were you thinking? Something killing every single one of us?" He grinned that special grin of his at her. "As if!" His forehead came to rest against hers. "We're fine, all alive. You're alive. And awake. And there's a huge party going on downstairs that I'm missing out on to tell you this, so you better stop freaking out and pay attention to me."

Lucy's cheeks tinted pink. "...okay," she mumbled.

Triumphant, the dragon slayer looked to Loke for approval, and Loke rolled his eyes before disappearing again. Natsu pouted at the now empty space. "He's being an ass today," he muttered, then blinked when Lucy suddenly held her arms out. He grinned, recognizing instinctively what she wanted and dragged her over for a hug.

This time, she didn't try and get away.

"You really scared us," Natsu mumbled, silently checking to make sure she hadn't given herself an open wound. Smelling no blood, he rested his chin on top of her head, ignoring the fact that both of them were now sitting on the hard floor rather than the semi-comfortable bed. "You nearly left us a couple times."

Lucy didn't respond for a few moments, simply letting herself cautiously enjoy Natsu's presence. And this wasn't the hardened Natsu she'd grown used to, she realized, this was the man who'd brought her to Fairy Tail, who wanted to start fights at every possible chance. This was her Natsu. Finally, she rasped, "Sorry."

"Not you who needs to apologize," he grumbled, gently untangling a knot in her hair. "That stupid ice-bastard is going to worship the ground you walk on until he's paid you back for what he did."

Lucy frowned at this, pulling back to look up at him for just a brief moment. Natsu was glowering at the wall, and she could feel the slightest flickers of flames snapping to life. "...what?"

"'Cause that bastard said what he said, you left and got attacked," Natsu growled, still not looking at her. "He's lucky Erza and I didn't kill him...Juvia stopped us."

"...I'm lost," she admitted after another moment of silent thought. "I...I can't figure out..." She stumbled over her words, mind going a mile a minute. She knew exactly what he was talking about. "Yeah, well, at least she would have been of use in the fight and wouldn't have just stood there like a useless whining bitch!" She remembered Gray's words. She remembered the attack...but then she remembered everything that followed. So how how much of it had she been unconscious for?"

"You didn't wake up from the attack," Natsu mumbled, his grip tightening around her. "I chased the demon off, and Wendy and I got you to some hospital place. When you didn't wake up for a while, we decided to move you here."

Lucy went over this carefully. "...the mark?" she asked suddenly, a hand carefully reaching back to try and feel her back. She couldn't reach, however, and scowled. She wanted to make sure herself that it wasn't there. Only then would she truly believe everyone. Not that it would stop the nightmares that she knew would continue to bug her.

"Let me see," he murmured. She tensed in surprise when she felt his hand brush against the flesh of her back, his touch warm against her chilled skin. Then he grinned. "Nope. Nothing. It's gone, just like Gramps and that weird lady said."

"She's not weird," Lucy chided tiredly, rolling her eyes. But a large smile had planted itself on her face, and she winced when there was a loud crash below them. Natsu huffed, looking longingly at the floor, and the celestial mage patted his shoulder. "Help me onto the bed and you can go join the fighting if you want...just don't burn the guildhall down please."

"Nah," he said with a shrug. "I'm gonna stay with you."

She smiled warmly at that. "Seriously though," she said, frowning. "I want to get on the bed now. The floor's really uncomfortable. And I can't...I can't move on my own." She flushed, waving at her thin legs.

He grinned, scooping her up and hugging her again for a brief moment. "We'll have you up and walking again in no time," he announced, somehow getting to his feet even though he was holding her. He placed her in the bed, gently tucking the sheets and blankets around her. "Do you want anything to eat? 'Cause I'm starving."

Lucy giggled softly. "Sure."

"I'll bring you something delicious," he promised eagerly. "Happy's gonna want to come up, too, though. D'ya mind?"

Lucy's mind immediately went to the memory of Juvia ripping Happy apart. "...no," she decided. "I want to see him." She wanted to hug the blue cat and apologize for all of the times she'd shouted at him.

"I'll be right back," he promised. He hesitated for a moment, then grinned, ducking down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead. She blinked up at him in surprise, and he smirked before darting from the room.

Okay. So maybe there was a bit more to her Natsu then she remembered...

Lucy bit her lip, grateful that Natsu had left her sitting up. She rested back against the headboard of the bed, letting her eyes flutter shut to doze until the door slammed open again. Natsu came flying back in with Happy in tow. The blue cat wailed, abandoning Natsu to slam into her. Lucy flinched in pain, smiling gently down at him as she stroked his head. "You're okay!" Happy sobbed. "W-we were s-so worried!"

"I'm sorry," she said softly, cuddling the crying Exceed to her. She spared a glance up at Natsu, who was watching with an emotionless expression, his gaze never leaving her even as he offered her a cup of tea that Mira had probably handed him to bring her. She reached out to take it, careful not to bother Happy as he cried against her. "I'm okay now," she promised, "It won't happen again..." I hope!

"It better not," Natsu growled, flopping into the chair beside her bed, watching intently as he exchanged the now empty cup for a small roll. "Mira said you shouldn't eat too much...you haven't eaten right since before the attack."

"Thank you, Natsu," she said honestly, nibbling at the edge of the roll.

They fell silent except for Happy's wailing, and Lucy could feel her eyes drooping. How was she tired after being unconscious for months on end? And how could she even consider sleeping when she knew the nightmares would plague her? Yet here she was, ready to pass out!

"Luce?"

"Hm?" She forced her eyes open, turning them on the dragon slayer.

"You can sleep ya know," he offered. "I'll send Happy back downstairs." He received a furious glare from the Exceed for that suggestion.

"No," Lucy insisted, shaking her head. "I want to stay awake...I don't want to sleep anymore..." She gave a rather large yawn that had her dragon slayer companion smirking. She only rolled her eyes and locked them on Happy, stroking his head gently. "And I don't want to see..." She trailed off, not wanting to finish.

"You don't have to sleep," Happy promised, hugging her even tighter. "Natsu and I can help keep you awake! Wanna play a game with fish?"

"Uh, no, but thanks," Lucy chuckled softly.

"I can tell ya what you missed," Natsu offered suddenly, startling her. She looked over at him with surprise and he flashed her a grin. "It's not a lot. And maybe you can tell us about that nightmare that scares ya. Loke said it was bad."

"I'd rather not," Lucy said hastily, shivering at the memories that flooded her. "Not...not yet, Natsu."

"Okay." Even he knew when not to push. "I'll just tell you what you've missed then...wanna help, little buddy?" He grinned at Happy, who beamed back and eagerly agreed.

Somehow, Lucy stayed awake throughout the entire story.